"Never thought I'd willingly come back here again," Adamaï growled as the trio stepped through the zaap and into the charred remains of Qilby's laboratory. Without thinking he lifted a front claw and felt the dark scar that ran down his left eye, the one Qilby had given him during their duel. It served as a constant reminder of his folly all those years ago, and what came of trusting so freely. He frowned as he thought again of what they had just done and hoped that it was the right choice to make, but at least this time they wouldn't be so foolish as to give Qilby their trust.
Baltazar had managed to put them down on the long dais that lined the backmost wall of the lab, where shelf upon shelf of books rose to the ceiling high above. A small globe of fire conjured by Adamaï served as their only illumination, leaving the rest of the lab a mass of darkness and shadow. Adamaï noted that this part of the lab was at least much less creepy than the part Qilby had first shown him, it even seemed relatively benign if you forgot about the front part of the chamber. The fires started during Adamaï's duel with Qilby had mostly remained near the frontmost part of the lab, though a few stray pieces of debris had even managed to find their way onto the dais itself. Every area that had been touched by fire was now left in smoke-stained shadow, adding to the chamber's gloomy atmosphere.
Yugo tilted his head back to try to take in the entirety of the bookshelves before them; they even had balconies built onto them at each level with spiral stairs to connect them. "How am I supposed to know which books to look for?" he turned to look at Qilby, who was making his way around a stray piece of glass to get a better look at the shelves.
"You can read Draconic, can't you?" Qilby glanced back at Yugo as he asked the question, eyebrows raised to reflect his genuine—if worried—inquiry.
"Aahm..." Yugo's face reddened and his gaze wandered down to the floor, too embarrassed to look Qilby in the eye. "Not very well...?"
"Grougal didn't have time to teach him," Adamaï added. He glared at the back of Qilby's head as if daring him to make a rude comment about Yugo's ignorance, and felt surprised at his own animosity; he hadn't been expecting to feel so upset over Qilby's return from the Blank Dimension since he had first suggested it himself, but he couldn't help feeling more than a little angry whenever he set his eyes on the old Eliatrope.
"But Phaeris should've been able to," Qilby replied, giving Adamaï a quick glance and looking away again just as quickly. "What has he been doing all this time?"
"Phaeris died seven years ago," Yugo looked up at Qilby again, having gotten over his embarrassment for the moment. "And we can't just go to Emrub whenever we want so Baltazar can't teach me either."
"Oh," a small hint of distress managed to work its way into Qilby's voice, but he didn't press for further details. "I'll tutor you if I have enough time. It's something both of you should know," he turned back to the shelves and started toward the nearest set of stairs. "Meet me on the second level. We'll work from there."
Ascending to the second level was the work of a moment for Yugo thanks to his zaaps, of which it only took a single set. Once up he turned to look back down at the pair still on the ground, leaning on the ornate metal railing as he waited for them to make it up as well.
Adamaï spread his wings to follow and brought them down in one massive surge to pull himself up into the air, creating a gust almost large enough to knock Qilby off his feet in the process. He pretended not to have noticed the groundward results of his takeoff and instead flew up to where Yugo was waiting for them. Upon closer examination Adamaï could see that the balcony was too small for his body by several feet, and he accordingly shifted to his humanoid form and dropped himself onto its cool metal floor.
Yugo was wearing a slight frown as he watched Qilby climb up after them. Whether this was because he'd noticed what Adamaï had done or because he was simply thinking on the matter at hand, the dragon could not guess; he hoped it was the later.
Qilby was winded by the time he reached the second level, and he paused at the head of the stairs to catch his breath for a few moments while Yugo and Adamaï watched. "Right," Qilby straightened, his amber eyes settling on a section of shelf to their left. "My research on infectious diseases runs from here," he walked forward and placed a hand on the section, then moved until he had covered several divisions of shelving "to here."
"So do we just take all of it?" Yugo pushed off the railing and looked up at the section—its length easily contained several hundred books, most likely more.
"Are we able to come back if I end up needing one of the books that got left behind?" Qilby asked, eyes still on the shelves.
"No, we can't just hop to and from Emrub whenever we want," Adamaï replied. "We brought a haven bag anyway, it should all fit in there." He put the bag on the floor between them; it was the same bag that had held the materials for forging Qilby's collar, and was now empty with that task done.
"Well, let's get to it, then," Qilby walked back to the start of the section and removed one of the books—so large that he could only handle one with his single intact arm—from the highest shelf.
It was taking Baltazar longer than usual to hear them this time. The trio stood idly on the platform before the large dark gap in the shelves' book collection as they waited, the bag containing Qilby's precious research slung over Yugo's shoulder by its strap.
Adamaï tapped a foot on the metal flooring, causing an echo that reverberated throughout the massive laboratory, and hoped that Baltazar would notice them soon. Anxiety had begun creeping in after spending more than five minutes in this place; it still reminded him of the confrontation, especially if he happened to look at the charred and broken containment tubes near the center of the chamber. The sooner they left, the better he would feel.
"Usually doesn't take this long," Yugo muttered, having noticed Adamaï's agitation. He readjusted the shoulder strap of his bag and pushed off the railing to pace the length of floor between it and the shelves.
"Do you go to Emrub often?"
Qilby's voice snapped the two brothers out of their respective musings, and they both looked up at him. He stood stiff and uneasy, evidently not happy to be lingering in the lab either.
"No, we've gone maybe half a dozen times since finding out about it," Yugo replied, unsure as to where Qilby might be going with this.
"Emrub exists as a dimension beyond time, it's not surprising to think that it might not always sync up with the main dimension's flow," Qilby appeared to be thinking over the issue himself as he spoke. "It's a possibility, anyway. You might not have noticed until now because of how infrequently you visit."
A blue pinpoint of light flashed briefly before Yugo, then blossomed into the zaap that would take them back to Emrub—Baltazar had finally heard their call.
They stepped through and the zaap vanished, leaving the remains of Qilby's laboratory in darkness once again.
Yugo and Adamaï had told their father Alibert of their plan to bring Qilby back and had received his approval, and they'd even agreed to move Adamaï back into his brother's room in order to free up a place for their guest to stay in when the time came. Adamaï had liked having his own room, but the current situation was preferable to having Qilby in a place where it would be harder to keep an eye on him. Baltazar's zaap put them in the yard behind the inn, and they entered to find Alibert in the kitchen preparing a meal for one of his customers.
"Welcome back Yugo, Adamaï," Alibert gave his two adoptive sons a warm smile as he loaded up a tray. "How did it go?"
"Good," Yugo turned to see if Qilby had followed them in, and was relieved to see that he had done just that. He noticed that the old Eliatrope was even stooping a bit as if he were attempting to hide behind Yugo and his brother, a futile attempt given how tall Qilby was. "Are Grougal and Chibi around?" he turned back to Alibert, and silently hoped that the pair of younger brothers wouldn't be around to see Qilby, at least for now.
"Out playing," Alibert replied as he lifted the tray. "Might be best to leave them to it for now," he added. Though Alibert had not personally witnessed Qilby's treachery, he had been forced to deal with the aftermath of Grougal's disappearance. And he had also witnessed the fit of fiery anger that Grougal had thrown himself into at the mere suggestion that Qilby would be retrieved from the Blank Dimension. It would be best to move slowly, for the sake of everyone involved and for the inn itself.
Alibert looked up at Qilby for the first time and dithered on what he wanted to say to him—the whole situation felt awkward given Qilby's traitor status, so even a remotely warm greeting would never do in this case. Even the way Qilby was dressed now added to the unease in the air, partially because of how awkwardly the old Eliatrope was holding himself. Finally he sighed and looked back to Yugo, "Get him settled in before Grougal and Chibi get back, maybe it'll be easier if he just doesn't see him for a while."
"Yeah," Yugo nodded and turned to Qilby again. "Follow us."
Adamaï's old room had been emptied of all personal belongings soon after they had settled on bringing Qilby back, and was now bare save for a narrow bed, a desk that stood below the window with its chair, and a few vacant bookcases that lined one wall. It was located directly next to the room that Yugo and Adamaï now shared, which would allow them to keep an eye on Qilby without him intruding too much on their personal lives.
"Here's where you'll be staying," Yugo led the way in, stopping at the desk to plunk his bag down on its worn wooden surface.
Qilby followed without a word, Adamaï close behind him. He seemed to be in a daze, as if he still couldn't quite believe what was happening, and he gave the floor an unfocused stare as he took a seat on the bed. After few long moments of silence Qilby looked up at Yugo, "What information do you have on the plague?"
Yugo paused as he thought of the details Joris had shared with him via letter. "Be right back," he dashed from the room and into his own, where he dug the letters from Joris out of the desk drawer he'd been keeping them in. One... Two... Yugo singled out the letters that mentioned the plague—four in all and spanning the course of a month—and returned with them to the room where Adamaï and Qilby waited. "Here," he slowed to a halt in front of the bed and handed the letters to Qilby, who accepted them and laid them out on the bedspread beside him where he would be able to handle them more easily.
Adamaï strode over from where he'd been leaning on the wall by the door and watched as Qilby read the letters. Where Qilby had seemed disoriented before, his expression was now focused and slightly troubled as he read the details of the Red Plague that had been shared in Joris's letters. The young dragon hoped that meant they would be able to count on Qilby to work as quickly as possible in finding a cure, and that he wasn't just putting on an act while he thought up something unpleasant—Baltazar had only mentioned that the collar prevented the actual telling of lies, not that it made the wearer honest via body language as well. It would be yet another reason to keep a close eye on Qilby in the weeks to come.
"It's a start," Qilby said as he flipped the final page of the last letter. "I'll be able to begin narrowing down the suspects with this, but I'm going to need more concrete information on it before I can find a solution," he pushed himself upright, still looking down at the letters as he did so. "If you could get some paper and a pen I'll start on that now," he scooped the letters up and offered them back to Yugo.
"Such as...?" Yugo asked hesitantly as he accepted the stack of letters.
"How it spreads, progression of symptoms, any treatments they may have tried," Qilby replied. "Preferably from someone who has experience in such fields," he shivered briefly as he sat back on the bed. It was no surprise given that he had only a ragged pair of pants on at the moment, which while baggy still left his chest and feet exposed to the cold.
"Joris will probably know someone," Yugo turned to Adamaï, then jerked his head toward the door.
The dragon followed Yugo out into the hall, one ear still on Qilby and the other on what Yugo had to say.
"Could you go get Joris in person?" Yugo kept his voice low as he spoke.
Adamaï glanced back into the bedroom, where Qilby's feet were just visible beyond the doorway. "You sure you want me to leave now when we still have Grougal to deal with?" The young dragon was sure to pitch a fit once he knew Qilby was here, and while Yugo was better able to reason with Grougal he still worried that his brother would be unable to handle things should the black dragon's rage get out of hand. And what if something happened while he was gone? Unwanted memories of what happened when Yugo left him and Qilby behind began to surface as well, but Adamaï brushed them off and assured himself that Yugo would be able to handle things. Yugo had defeated the older Eliatope once, and without the boost from using the Eliacube Qilby would be no match for Yugo anyway.
"I can hold Grougal off until you get back," Yugo assured him. "You travel faster than me, and the sooner we get what we need the better."
It made sense. Adamaï was strong enough to fly long distance with very few stops these days, and he could even carry one to two passengers on his back while doing it; someone as small as Master Joris would be no problem. "Alright," the dragon nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Ad," Yugo gave his brother a genuine smile, relieved to have that order of business out of the way. "I think I'm gonna have to go visit the tailor today," he added as a thought struck him.
"Yeah, would be a bit awkward to have him walking around half-naked all the time," Adamaï's voice held a touch of humor as he looked sidelong into the room again, but Qilby had still not moved from where they left him earlier. "And nothing we have here would ever fit him." He turned back to Yugo, "I'll get together what I need and plan a route while you do that."
Grougaloragran was lurking somewhere nearby, Yugo was sure of it. Chibi had already come inside and greeted his older "brother" with his usual cheer and was now doing a few of his daily chores, but Grougal was nowhere to be seen. This could prove to be a very big problem if the dragonet happened upon Qilby with no one around to intervene.
Yugo settled for lingering around Qilby's room for the time being, just to be sure that he was within reach in case Grougal tried something. No sound save for the rustle of turning pages and the scratch of a pen could be heard from the room, and Qilby was seated and working at the desk every time Yugo leaned through the doorway to have a look. The old Eliatrope still wore the same clothes that he came out of the blank dimension with, despite the brief visit from the village tailor earlier—the man would need time to fill with order, since no customer he'd dealt with before had been as tall as Qilby was.
There had been no complaint from Qilby over this in any case, and he had simply gone back to work once the tailor finished. Several of the thick books taken from the lab had been laid out to various pages on either side of the desk and even on the bed, their written contents only readable to the old Eliatrope himself. It made Yugo curious, but he hesitated on asking what diseases the open pages covered; that would only take up time, and he would be properly learning to read Draconic eventually anyway.
He settled on searching for Grougal again instead, leaving Qilby to his work. A passing check of all the usual nooks and crannies—on the tops of bookshelves, in cupboards, under chairs and tables—that the dragonet tended to hide in when he was feeling sulky turned up empty, much to Yugo's worry. He spotted Chibi in the family dining room as the younger Eliatrope wandered past, a large letter held carefully in both hands. "Chibi?"
"Hmm?" Chibi looked up at Yugo, his mind obviously still elsewhere for a few moments. "Yeah?" he asked, his eyes properly focusing on Yugo as his thoughts returned to the present.
"Have you seen Grougal around? I think he's sulking somewhere but I can't find him."
Chibi paused to think on the matter for a moment. "He said he had to do something when we came in, but not what," his expression became worried as he realized what that might mean. "Is he doing something bad?" and there was the familiar tone of weary apology in Chibi's voice now, as if he was just waiting to be told of the next bit of harassment that his brother had dumped on someone.
"That's what I'm trying to find out," Yugo ducked to look under the dining table again, just in case: no Grougal. "Just keep an eye out for him if you can."
"M'kay," Chibi nodded. Being Grougal's twin, he knew the mischief his dragon brother could get into—both innocent and otherwise—very well despite having never been the target of it himself. Grougal saw his twin as off-limits in that respect, but it didn't stop Chibi from feeling embarrassed every time he acted out. "I'll ask him to come read Nia's letter with me if I see him," he added, half to himself as he started to turn away.
Yugo paused to watch Chibi go, then decided to check outside. The bushes beneath the window to the room Qilby was staying in turned up no sign of Grougal himself, though a closer inspection revealed a few footprints that belonged to him. So the dragonet had been here under the window at some point... He straightened and glanced into the room; Qilby was still at the desk, the top of his head to the window while he worked. It was still so unnerving to see the lack of hat and wings... Yugo's eyes wandered to the doorway beyond, and he spotted a brief flicker of black scales against the shadows of the hallway as something darted past. There he was! He dashed around to the nearest door and rushed to the hallway, cutting corners with a few well-aimed zaaps to save time.
The dragonet had managed to disappear again by the time Yugo arrived. He let out a short sigh of frustration and rolled his eyes; why couldn't Grougal be more reasonable, like his brother? And then there was the fact that Grougal was starting to come into his transformation magic, which made him even more difficult to deal with—it made him even more skilled at causing trouble on the sly. Yugo was starting to wonder whether sending Adamaï to get Joris was the right thing to do when he noticed that the sound of the scratching pen had stopped.
Qilby set his pen down as his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, then braced his hand against the table and pushed himself to his feet. He turned to the door, spotted Yugo, and seemed to fall into a momentary daze as he stared at the younger Eliatrope. A small hint of color settled on his pale face as he struggled with what he wanted to say. "...I figured it would be a good time to ask if I could have something to eat," he said finally, his voice almost too quiet to hear.
"Oh. Yeah, of course," Yugo hadn't known what to expect Qilby to say, but it certainly hadn't been that. "I'll make something up for you," he mentally slapped himself for not thinking of it earlier as he waved for Qilby to follow him to the kitchen. When was the last time Qilby had eaten, anyway? Obviously in real time it had been literal years since he'd eaten anything and the Blank Dimension didn't allow its occupant to waste away from hunger, but had he eaten at all between disappearing from Sadida and turning up at the Crimson Claws Archipelago with Rushu?
The two walked down the hall single file with Qilby following just a short distance behind Yugo. With their minds both focused on other things, they failed to notice the quiet rustling of claws on the floorboards behind them as Grougal took aim.
Qilby let out a surprised yelp as Grougal slammed head first into his back with a loud thwump. He crumpled, first falling to his knees, then collapsing entirely as he lost the strength to hold himself up with his single arm.
"Grougal!" Yugo snapped, turning just in time to spot the dragonet flying for the opposite end of the hallway again. He threw a zaap in front of the fleeing black dragon and opened its companion just beside him, where he would be able to apprehend Grougal and give him a good talking-to.
Grougal slowed as the zaap appeared just in front of him, but it was already too late—his momentum was too great, and there was nothing that could stop him in midair now. He sailed through the zaap and straight into Yugo's waiting hands.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Grougal?" Yugo's voice deepened slightly and took on a more authoritative tone as he addressed the dragonet, who he held at eye level in both hands as he spoke.
"Giving him what he deserves!" Grougal snapped, giving Yugo a heated glare of defiance. "He's a dirty traitor and he deserves every bad thing he gets!" he shook his front paws for emphasis, his expression making it absolutely clear that he was just short of giving Yugo a face full of fire at this point.
"What have we told you about taking revenge, Grougal?" Yugo asked, having decided to sidestep the topic of what Qilby deserved for the time being. For now the biggest concern was the vengeful streak Grougal happened to be indulging, something that he and Adamaï had been trying to curb for some time.
"I'm being careful," Grougal snarled. He'd heard the lectures many times over about revenge destroying the things you love in the end, but he figured that wouldn't apply as long as he was careful about it. The better your aim, the lesser your chance of hitting an unintended target.
A quiet groan from Qilby interrupted their debate, and he slowly pushed himself up with his arm as they watched. "I'm..." he coughed and paused to catch his breath, the sentence remaining unfinished because the collar restricted him from uttering even the small lie of "I'm alright" when such was clearly not the case. "Got me in the left kidney..." he offered weakly as he slumped against the wall.
Yugo turned back to Grougal in time to spot the venom-filled glare that the dragonet was directing at Qilby. "Grougal," he began. The dragonet's obvious hatred wasn't something that could be solved with a single discussion, and they'd already tried as much several times... Yugo let out a long sigh as he realized what a long day it had actually been what with going to Emrub, retrieving Qilby, fetching the research material, helping Adamaï pack, talking with the tailor, and last but not least trying to stop Grougaloragran from doing something nasty to Qilby when he saw him. "Just go be with Chibi for a while," Yugo said finally, turning to let the dragonet free in the hallway ahead. "Another letter from Nia came today, why don't you go read it?"
Grougal hopped out of Yugo's open arms and onto the floor, still giving Qilby a dirty look as he landed. This wouldn't be the end of it, not by a long shot, but Grougal would just have to settle for giving Qilby a badly bruised back for the time being. "Hmph," Grougal grumbled with an angry toss of his head. "I've got better stuff to do anyway..." He left the floor in a leap and flew down the hallway, still-small wings producing a quiet fluttering noise as he went.
"You alright?" Yugo offered a hand to Qilby, who still knelt on the floor.
"Not sure," Qilby still sounded winded from the attack, but he accepted Yugo's assistance and allowed the younger Eliatrope to pull him to his feet. "A blow to a kidney can be serious, but I don't think he hit me hard enough." His face was a bit paler than usual and his voice still somewhat strained from the pain. "I hope," he added, gingerly feeling the darkening bruise with the back of his right hand and wincing as he touched it.
"Let's get to the kitchen," Yugo restrained the desire to get a look at the bruise and instead started down the hall again, checking frequently to make sure Qilby was still following him. He could always check the bruise once Qilby was seated and no longer in danger of falling over.
Alibert met them as they entered the kitchen, a tray laden with dirty dishes in his hands. "Yugo," his expression brightened slightly upon seeing his son, but there was still a hint of worry as he glanced at Qilby. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, just getting some food," Yugo replied.
"Good, good. Think you could make a few orders of gobball stew for me while you're in here? It's getting busy out there," Alibert nodded toward the door that led to the common room, through which the muffled, content conversation and laughter of the inn's guests could be heard.
"Dinner rush already, huh?" Yugo glanced at the stew pot and the counters surrounding it and found that the necessary ingredients and utensils had already been laid out; Alibert had been preparing to make the stew himself when Yugo and Qilby arrived. "Yeah, of course I can. Just let me finish something up first."
"Thanks, Yugo. I'll need four servings of gobball stew for now," Alibert gave Yugo an appreciative smile and placed the dirty dishes beside the sink where he would be able to wash them later. He then placed the empty tray under one arm and returned to the inn's common room, where the guests were waiting for him.
Yugo waved Qilby over to the kitchen's single plain table and got to work. He glanced at Qilby as he put on the gobball steaks to grill; Qilby was slouched slightly to his right—most likely because of the massive, ugly bruise that marked the left side of his lower back—with his elbow propped on the tabletop and his chin resting in the cup of his hand as he stared blankly at the opposite wall, apparently lost in thought. It seemed impossible to shake the surreality of it all after what happened eight years ago. To think that Qilby of all people was in his kitchen now, just sitting there at the table. And how he acted so... Subdued. He'd been low-key when they first met of course, but this... It was almost hard to believe they were the same person, and now it almost seemed like he'd given up, or that he just didn't care anymore.
The steaks were done, and the stock was coming along nicely. Yugo paused as he set a piece of meat aside for Qilby; it would be hard to cut up a steak like this with one hand, wouldn't it? Slicing up the meat was quick work anyway, and soon Yugo had a small mound of gobball cubes ready to be put on Qilby's serving of stew.
Qilby flinched as Yugo put the bowl in front of him; the sharp, quiet sound of ceramic on wood had been enough to snap him out of his reverie. "Thank you," the murmur was so quiet that Yugo thought he had imagined it for a moment, but the voice was certainly Qilby's.
Yugo gave him a nod of acknowledgement and returned to the pot, and after a few moments his curiosity assisted him in breaking the silence: "So how long's it been since you ate last?"
There came a quiet click as Qilby set the spoon down on the bowl's edge. "Difficult to explain with the Blank Dimension involved," he began. "In literal time it's been years, but in expressed time I haven't eaten in three days."
"Three days?" Yugo had a suspicion that such was the case, but he hadn't thought it would actually be true. "How'd you go three days without eating?"
"The Eliacube," Qilby replied. "Integrating it into your own body has various side effects, on top of the amplification of power," his tone regained some confidence as he continued. "It tricks the body into thinking it doesn't need to eat, which is partly true due to the power flowing through it—the Eliacube can provide what it needs to survive in pure energy form, but there are still limits to a biological body that cannot be changed. The user is also unable to sleep while under its direct influence, which—as you may have guessed—can create serious problems when it comes to mental stability and health."
Yugo grimaced at the bowl of stew he was preparing; he'd realized the Eliacube was dangerous long ago, and hearing what it did to those who used it in such detail made him glad that he'd never tried to use it in a similar way himself. The erratic, frantic way Qilby started acting toward the end of their confrontation all those years ago made more sense too now that he knew that. It didn't excuse Qilby's actions or behavior of course, but it helped explain how someone as collected as Qilby had come so... Unhinged, when combined with what he knew of the older Eliatrope's past. His current behavior was downright tame in comparison, it made Yugo wonder just what was going through Qilby's head at the moment.
False silence closed in, its depths humming with the contented murmur of conversation from the common room beyond, occasionally broken by the sound of a spoon tapping against the pot or a bowl as Yugo finished preparing the meals for their guests. He loaded up two trays and started toward the door, hesitating just before he made it through; Grougal could be lurking somewhere nearby again, and he didn't want to give him the opportunity to injure Qilby by being absent. Yugo poked his head through the doorway and searched the common room for his father. "Dad?" he called, having spotted Alibert near the inn's front counter.
Alibert looked up from his conversation with one of the newcomers and excused himself when he spotted Yugo with the trays. "Thanks, Yugo," he accepted the trays from Yugo, one in each hand, and started to move off into the room. "Would you be able to help more or are you occupied?"
Yugo glanced over his shoulder to get a look at Qilby, who was still sitting at the kitchen table slowly eating his dinner. Sleep would probably be the next thing Qilby needed given what he mentioned about the effects of the Eliacube, but Yugo could always keep working until then. "Yeah, I'll let you know when I need to stop," he replied.
"Then I'll get these out to our guests, and I'll need three more as well," Alibert paused to glance around the kitchen, checking to see if Grougal was there himself before returning to the common room.
The door swung shut, muffling the sounds of the common room once again. Yugo returned to the grill and put three more gobball steaks on, then turned his attention to the stew.
"I've been meaning to ask if the plague has made it to this region yet," Qilby placed his spoon on the tabletop as he spoke, his meal finished.
"Not that we know of," Yugo glanced over his shoulder as he flipped the steaks, and saw that Qilby was now watching him from where he sat at the table. "I'm pretty sure news like that would travel fast."
"It gives us a bit more time, at least," Qilby set his elbow on the tabletop and rested his head against his hand. "I don't have enough information to come to any solid conclusions yet, but from what I've heard of the disease it's strikingly similar to one I've dealt with before."
"Really?" Yugo raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked back at Qilby. "So does that mean it'll be easier to cure?"
"As I said before, I'll need more information to be sure," Qilby replied. "I first encountered the disease thousands of years ago as well, it may have changed since then if it's even the same one."
"Oh," Yugo turned to the stew again, his hopes somewhat dashed. Still, if Qilby was this far along just from hearing about what the disease was like then surely he would be able to find a cure for it eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later with what was at stake. He tossed another glance over his shoulder and noticed that Qilby now appeared to be dozing, head still resting against his upturned hand.
Three days without sleep, without food, not to mention the misery that came of time spent in the Blank Dimension, no wonder Qilby felt tired. Now that he thought of it, Yugo was surprised that the older Eliatrope had been able to get as much work done as he did in the condition he was in. He hadn't looked well when they pulled him out of the Blank Dimension, and he still didn't look good even now. What the Eliacube had filled out while Qilby used it had receded during his stay in the Blank Dimension, leaving the outlines of his ribs and hips painfully apparent even in the gentler firelight of the kitchen. His face was pale and possessed more wrinkles than Yugo remembered, framed by light brown hair that was now limp and dull.
Yugo let Qilby doze as he continued cooking, trying to work as quietly as possible as he finished making the meals for Alibert; he didn't dare send Qilby off without accompanying him what with Grougal out and about, that was just asking for more trouble. He would have to stay nearby in case anything happened, if only to pull Grougal off of Qilby when the dragonet decided to make his move.
Once finished Yugo placed the last three meals on a tray and made his way to the doorway again. Alibert was watching for him this time and walked over to the doorway without Yugo having to call him. "I need to keep an eye on him," Yugo said quietly as he handed the trays over.
Alibert nodded in understanding as he accepted the trays. Having Qilby around would take getting used to, but regardless he knew that he could always depend on Yugo for help. "You should get some rest, too," he said, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Qilby. "It's been a long day for you."
"Yeah, it has," Yugo gave him a low, tired laugh. "It's been a long weird day."